EDO Corp. officially opened a new facility in Charleston, S.C., that will manufacture state-of-the-art battlefield communications systems. This operation employs 50 people, with a projected growth to 70 in 2007.

“This new facility is 50,000 square feet and will support our anticipated growth in the Communications and Networking Systems business unit,” said James M. Smith, EDO’s chief executive officer. “Here we design and integrate voice and data communications equipment into end-to-end network solutions.”

The new facility here is responsible for supporting the Transition Switch Module (TSM) program, a key component of the Marine Corps network-centric battlefield communications strategy. In 2005, EDO was awarded a contract with a maximum value of $240 million for the procurement of multiple configurations of TSMs.

Another key product at this business unit is the Joint Enhanced Core Communication System (JECCS) which EDO is also producing for the Marine Corps. JECCS provides a mobile telecommunications “central office”, mounted on a Humvee that connects with the Defense Information Systems Network (DISN) to give individual Marines full access to deployed communications networks.

The production needs of these contracts, as well as other expanding work at this business unit, necessitated the move from a smaller facility in nearby Wando, S.C.

EDO is headquartered in New York and employs 4,200 people worldwide. The company was founded in 1925 and had revenues of $648 million in 2005.

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